dwelling
Americannoun
noun
Synonym Usage
See house.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of dwelling
Explanation
A dwelling is a home — where someone lives. Houses, apartments, and condos are all dwellings. If you know that to dwell means to live somewhere, then the meaning of dwelling won't be a surprise: it's an abode, domicile, or home. Your dwelling might be a house or an apartment. Tents, trailers, and igloos are all dwellings. Anything people live in is a dwelling. If you have no dwelling, then you have no shelter and you're probably homeless.
Vocabulary lists containing dwelling
Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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There's No Word Like Home
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "D"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her story covers the breadth of her life, dwelling especially on her youth in the 1930s among migrant fruit pickers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
On 9 September 2024, she was ordered to remove the unauthorised dwelling and cease living in the barn.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
The dwelling sits on a .29-acre lot and boasts a luxe backyard with an infinity-edge pool, a sunken fire pit area, and gorgeous views of the city.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
Williams is also linked to a Palm Beach Gardens dwelling, which records show was purchased for $815,000 in 2015 through an LLC that she is listed as the manager of.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
The preserved heads apparently were “spirit traps” designed to keep the spirit in its original dwelling place.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
